Two axis variable clamp assembly

ABSTRACT

A clamp assembly includes a single adjustment mechanism that allows for adjustment of an object supported on the clamp assembly along two axes. The adjustment mechanism connects to a bracket and a support rod on which the object is mounted to lock a desired position of the object in place when desired and to allow for adjustment of that position, when desired.

The present application is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. §1.53(b) ofprior U.S. application Ser. No. 15/347,215, filed Nov. 9, 2016, which isa continuation of Ser. No. 14/735,354, filed Jun. 10, 2015, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,518,698, issued Dec. 13, 2016, which is a continuation ofSer. No. 13/477,685, filed May 22, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,068,690,issued Jun. 30, 2015, entitled “TWO AXIS VARIABLE CLAMP ASSEMBLY,” theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to a clamp assembly that allows foradjustment of a position of an object supported thereon along two axesvia actuation of a single adjustment mechanism.

Related Art

Clamp assemblies are commonly used in various assemblies to hold objectsin a desired position. For example, it is common to provide a clampassembly, or assemblies, that are fastened to the frame of a conveyorsystem, to hold guide rails that guide products along the conveyor beltat desired positions. Clamp assemblies typically allow for adjustment ofthe rail upward and downward and also laterally, or horizontally,accommodating different items on the conveyor belt. Clamp assemblies areused in many other applications as well, outside of conveyor beltsystems.

Typically, at least two different adjustment devices are necessary inorder to allow for adjustment along two axes. While this is acceptable,it complicates adjustment somewhat since the user must make two separateadjustments to provide the desired positioning of the guide rail.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a clamp assembly thatavoids these and other problems.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a clamp assemblythat allows for adjustment of a position of an object supported thereonalong two axes via a single adjustment mechanism.

A clamp assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes a base, a bracket extending from the base, thebracket including a slot formed longitudinally therein, an adjustmentknob positioned on a first side of the bracket, the adjustment knobincluding a shaft extending through the slot formed in the bracket, aconnector positioned on a second side of the bracket, opposite the firstside, and including an opening configured to receive the shaft of theknob and to releasably secure the knob to the connector and the bracketsuch that a position of the knob and connector is adjustable relative toa length of the bracket; and a support rod movably mounted in theconnector, such that a position of the support rod relative to theconnector is adjustable by operation of the adjustment knob.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the invention which refers tothe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a clamp assembly in accordance with anembodiment of the present application.

FIG. 2 is another illustration of the clamp assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a clamp assembly in accordance withanother embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 4 is another illustration of the clamp assembly of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 illustrates a clamp assembly in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of a clamp assembly 10 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure. The clamp assembly 10preferably includes a base 12 configured for connection to the frame(not shown) of a conveyor belt system, for example. While the presentdisclosure discusses use of the clamp assembly 10 in a conveyor beltsystem, the clamp assembly is not limited to use with a conveyor belt.Indeed, the clamp assembly 10 of the present disclosure may be used inmany different environments.

The base 12 may be fastened to the frame, or other element, via one ormore screws 14, as illustrated in FIG. 1, however, any suitable fastenermay be used. Further, while the clamp assembly 10 is discussed herein assupporting a guide rail for a conveyor belt system, as noted above, itis not limited to use in a conveyor belt system, nor is it limited touse in supporting a rail. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, theclamp assembly 10 may be used to support a wide variety of items,including, but not limited to sensors 103, reflectors 102 and fiberoptic cables 101.

In FIG. 1, a vertical bracket 18 is mounted on top of the base 12 andextends upward therefrom. While FIG. 1 illustrates the bracket 18extending vertically, the bracket may extend in other directions aswell. For example, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the bracket 18 may extendhorizontally. An elongated central slot 18 a is formed in the bracket 18and extends the length of the bracket. The slot 18 a accommodates athreaded shaft 16 a connected to adjustment knob 16 at one end on anouter surface of the bracket 18. An opposite end of the shaft 16 aextends into a connector 24 that is provided on the inner surface of thebracket 18. The knob 16 and connector 24 are fastened to the bracket 18to maintain a desired position of the connector 24 on the bracket. Thisfurther sets the position of the guide rail 22 fastened thereto.Specifically, the threads on the shaft 16 a engage internal threadsformed in opening O of the connector 24 to the secure the knob 16 andconnector 24 to the bracket 18. While the shaft 16 a preferably includesthreads that engage corresponding threads in the connector 24, any othersuitable adjustable fastener may be used to connect the knob 16 to theconnector.

The knob 16 is rotated in a first direction (See Arrow A of FIG. 1) totighten the connection between the knob 16, the connector 24 and thebracket 18 to set a position for the rail 22, or other element,connected to the connector 24 via support rod 20. Rotation of the knob16 in the opposite direction loosens the connection between the knob 16and the connector 24 and the bracket 18 such that the knob 16 andconnector 24 may slide in the slot 18 a to adjust the position thereof.

The connector 24 includes an outer element 24 b and an inner element 24a. The outer element 24 b and the inner element 24 a are preferablycylindrically shaped. The inner element 24 a slides into the outerelement 24 b. A rod channel C′ is provided in the side of the outerelement 24 b. A second rod channel C″ is formed in the side of the innerelement 24 a. The threaded shaft 16 a extends into the inner element 24a and engages threads on the inner surface of opening 0. The support rod20 extends through the channels C′, C″. The support rod 20 may be usedto support the guide rail 22 to establish a position thereof. Thesupport rod 20, however, may be used to support other objects as well,such as the sensor 103, reflector 102, and fiber optic cables 101illustrated in FIG. 5, for example. The rod 20 is slidable in thechannels C′, C″ when the channels are aligned to adjust the position ofthe rod relative to connector 24. In FIGS. 1-2, the rod 20 is slidablein a horizontal direction. In FIGS. 3-5, the rod 20 is slidable in avertical direction. The orientation of the channels C′, C″ may bemodified, however, to allow for sliding of the rod 20 in virtually anydirection, as desired.

The rod 20 is locked into place when the knob 16 is rotated in a firstdirection (See Arrow A of FIG. 1) to draw the inner element 24 a of theconnector 24 toward the knob 16, and thus, move the channel C″ out ofalignment with the channel C′. A pair of teeth 24 c extend inward fromthe inner edge of the outer element 24 b and are positioned in the slot18b of the bracket 18 to keep the outer element from rotating with theknob 16. A single tooth may be used in place of the pair of teethillustrated in FIG. 1. Thus, as the knob 16 is rotated, the threadedshaft 16 a engages the threads in the opening O to draw the innerelement 24 a toward the knob 16. When the knob 16 is rotated in theopposite direction, the threaded shaft engages with the threads in theopening O to push the inner element 24 a away from the knob and move thechannel C″ back into alignment with the channel C′. This allows theposition of the rod 20 to be adjusted. The rod 20 may be secured to therail 22 via screw 15, or any other suitable fastener. Further, as isnoted above, the rod 20 need not be secured to a rail, but may besecured to any desired object.

Further, when the knob 16 is rotated sufficiently in the oppositedirection, the connection between the knob 16 and the connector 24 isloosened, such that the knob 16 and connector 24 can be repositionedrelative to the bracket 18, as well. In this manner, rotation of thesingle knob 16 may be used to adjust positioning of the connector 24 androd 20 along two axes. In this manner, the horizontal, or lateralposition, of the rail 22, or other object connected to the rod 20 may beadjusted. Further, the rod 20 may be mounted in the connector 24 toallow for adjustment along other axes, if desired as shown in FIGS. 3-4,for example. After the desired position is set, the knob 16 is rotatedin the first direction to secure the position.

The clamp assembly 10 of the present application thus allows foradjustment of the position of the guide rail 22, or other item, alongtwo axes by manipulation of a single knob 16.

FIGS. 3-4 illustrate an embodiment of the clamp assembly 10 in which therod 20 is slidable relative to the connector 24 in the same direction asthe knob 16 and connector 24 are movable relative to the bracket 18. Inthis embodiment, the orientation of the teeth 24c relative to thechannels C′ C″ is offset by 90 degrees compared to the embodiment ofFIGS. 1-2. Otherwise, operation of the clamp assembly 10 in FIGS. 3-4 issubstantially the same as that that described above with reference toFIGS. 1-2. The teeth 24c may be offset at other positions to allow theadjustment of the rod 20 in different directions, as desired.

In FIG. 5, a single bracket 180 is used in conjunction with severalconnectors 24, knobs 16 and rods 20. The operation of the connectors 24,knobs 16 and rods 20 relative to the bracket 180, however, issubstantially the same as that described above with respect to thebracket 18. The bracket 180 includes slot 180 a through which the shaft16 a of each knob extends to connect with a respective connector 24.FIG. 5 also shows some of the additional elements that may be mounted onthe support rod 20 if desired, for example, fiber optic cables 101, areflector 102 or a sensor 103. The sensor may be any desired type ofsensor, including, but not limited to an optical sensor and atemperature sensor. The sensor 103 may be a bar code scanner, forexample.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A clamp assembly comprising: a first elementincluding an opening formed therein; an adjustment element positioned ona first side of the first element and including a shaft extendingthrough the opening; a connector positioned on a second side of thefirst element and including an opening configured to receive the shaftof the adjustment element and to releasably secure the adjustmentelement to the connector such that the adjustment element and connectorare movable relative to the first element; and a support element movablymounted in the connector, such that a position of the support elementrelative to the connector is adjustable.
 2. The clamp assembly of claim1, wherein the shaft of the adjustment element is threaded and rotationof the adjustment element in a first direction secures the adjustmentelement to the connector and the first element.
 3. The clamp assembly ofclaim 2, wherein rotation of the adjustment element in a seconddirection, opposite the first direction, loosens a connection betweenthe adjustment element, connector and first element such that theadjustment element and connector are movable relative to the firstelement.
 4. The clamp assembly of claim 3, wherein the connector furthercomprises: an outer element including a first channel opening formed ina side thereof; an inner element including a second channel openingformed in a side thereof and an opening configured to receive the shaftof the adjustment element formed in an inner end thereof facing thefirst element, the inner element slidably mounted in the outer elementsuch that the second channel is movable into and out of alignment withthe first channel; the support element passing through the first channeland the second channel such that the support element is movable relativeto the connector when the first channel and second channel are inalignment.
 5. The clamp assembly of claim 4, wherein the openingincludes a thread configured to interact with the threaded shaft of theadjustment element to selectively lock a position of the support elementrelative to the connector.
 6. The clamp assembly of claim 5, wherein theouter element includes at least one tooth extending from an inner endthereof toward the first element and configured to fit in the opening ofthe first element to prevent the outer element from rotating relative tothe first element.
 7. The clamp assembly of claim 6, wherein thethreaded shaft engages the threads of the opening to slide the innerelement toward the first element when the adjustment knob is turned inthe first direction to move the second rod channel out of alignment withthe first rod channel and lock the position of the support rod relativeto the connector.
 8. The clamp assembly of claim 7, wherein the threadedshaft engages the threads of the opening to slide the inner element awayfrom the first element when the adjustment element is turned in thesecond direction to move the second rod channel into alignment with thefirst rod channel and allow movement of the support element relative tothe connector.
 9. The clamp assembly of claim 1, further comprising asensor mounted on the support element and held in a desired positionwith the clamp assembly.
 10. The clamp assembly of claim 1, furthercomprising a reflector mounted on the support element and held in adesired position by the clamp assembly.
 11. The clamp assembly of claim1, further comprising at least one fiber optic cable mounted on thesupport element and held in a desired position by the clamp assembly.12. The clamp assembly of claim 1, wherein the first element extendsvertically.
 13. The clamp assembly of claim 12, where the supportelement is movable horizontally relative to the connector.
 14. The clampassembly of claim 12, wherein the support element is movable verticallyrelative to the connector.
 15. The clamp assembly of claim 1, whereinthe first element extends horizontally.
 16. The clamp assembly of claim15, wherein the support element is movable horizontally relative to theconnector.
 17. The clamp assembly of claim 15, wherein the supportelement is movable vertically relative to the connector.
 18. A clampassembly comprising: an adjustment member including a shaft; a connectorincluding an opening configured to receive the shaft of the adjustmentmember and to releasably secure the adjustment member to the connectorwith a gap formed between an inner surface of the adjustment member anda facing surface of the connector such that a size of the gap isadjustable; and a supported element movably mounted in the connector,such that a position of the supported element relative to the connectoris adjustable; where the rotation of the adjustment member in a firstdirection narrows the gap formed between the inner surface of theadjustment member and the facing surface of the connector and rotationof the adjustment member in a second direction, opposite the firstdirection, widens the gap formed between the inner surface of theadjustment member and the facing surface of the connector.